Privacy Policy

AfroAsia Media publishes a news website and the AfroAsia Media mobile apps for iOS and Android. This policy explains what information we handle when you use the website or the apps, why, and the choices you have.

You can read our articles without creating an account or providing personal information.

If you create a reader account, we store your email address, the display name you choose, your preferred language and your password. Passwords are stored only in hashed form; we cannot read them. We use your email address to verify your account, to send password reset emails you request and to send messages about your account.

You can delete your account at any time in the app (Account > Delete account) or on the website's account page. Deleting your account removes it from our systems and cancels any active membership.

How to delete your account

When you post a comment, its text and your display name are public and can be seen by anyone reading the article. Comments are moderated, and comments reported by other readers are reviewed by our team. If you delete your account, comments you posted may remain visible but are shown as from "Deleted reader" and are no longer linked to you.

If you sign up for our newsletter on the website, we store your email address and language so we can send it to you. We ask you to confirm your subscription by email, and every newsletter contains a link to unsubscribe.

Memberships are purchased on the website and payments are processed by Stripe. Your card details are entered with Stripe and are never stored on our servers. We keep a record of your membership status and the Stripe references needed to manage your subscription.

Like most online services, our servers may automatically record basic technical information when you use the website or the apps, such as your IP address, browser or device type, and the pages or content you request. This information is used to operate the service, keep it secure and prevent abuse.

The website and the apps send crash and error reports to Sentry, a service that helps us find and fix bugs. These reports contain technical data such as the device and operating system model, browser or app version and details of the error (for example a stack trace). We use them only to diagnose and fix problems.

On the website we may use Plausible Analytics to understand overall usage. Plausible does not use cookies and only provides aggregate statistics; it does not identify individual visitors.

The website may show advertising. Our own ads are served directly by us, and we only count how many times each ad is shown and clicked, without linking this to you. Where no house ad is available, an ad from Google AdSense may be shown; Google may use cookies or similar technologies for these ads in line with its own policies. Members do not see ads.

The mobile apps contain no analytics or advertising tracking and show no ads.

If you turn on breaking news alerts in the app, your device receives a push token from Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (on iOS, delivered through Apple Push Notification service). The app subscribes this token to a topic for your chosen language; it is not linked to your reader account. You can turn alerts off at any time in the app's settings or in your device settings.

The website does not require cookies to read articles. If you choose a language, we remember it in a small cookie so the site opens in that language next time. If you sign in, your browser stores your sign-in session locally so you stay signed in. Your browser may also store small amounts of data needed for the site to function correctly.

The app stores some information only on your device: your language choice, articles you save, a cache of articles and exchange rates for offline reading, and a list of comment authors you have blocked. If you sign in, your sign-in tokens are kept in your device's secure storage. Deleting the app removes this data from your device.

We use a small number of service providers to run the service: Cloudflare Turnstile to protect forms such as sign-up, comments and the newsletter from spam and abuse; Stripe for membership payments; Google Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service for push notifications; Sentry for crash and error reports; an email delivery service to send account emails and newsletters; and, on the website, Plausible Analytics and Google AdSense where enabled. These providers process data on our behalf or under their own privacy policies.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data from the apps to track you across other companies' apps or websites. We share information only with the service providers described above, or when required by law.

We keep your account information for as long as your account exists, and delete it when you delete your account, except where we must keep limited information for legal or security reasons. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe. Server logs and crash reports are kept only for a limited period and then deleted.

You can view and update your account details in the app or on the website, and you can delete your account at any time. You may also ask us for access to, correction of or deletion of your personal information by contacting us at the address below. Depending on where you live, you may have further rights under applicable law.

AfroAsia Media is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page.

For questions about this policy or your personal information, contact us at [email protected].